


Swapfell

by Luna_Sin_Sin



Category: Swapfell - Fandom, Undertale
Genre: Canon Characters - Freeform, Chara is a troubled child, F/F, First Run, Gen, M/M, NOT A DARKFIC, Promise, READ TAGS PLZ, Swapfell Universe, bad impulses, but they aren't merciless, emotionally stunted, has angst though, hinted at original characters, hurting child, just a harsh judge of character and their world, may have self-harm, multiple runs, my take on swapfell as the way i've imagined it, nothing gorey though, they have some bad influences, to some degree
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 23:47:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12157278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Sin_Sin/pseuds/Luna_Sin_Sin
Summary: This is Chara’s story, and their journey through the Underground. But, this isn’t a perfect run. After all, it’s hard to know what choices are right and wrong when it’s a kill or be killed world and you have nothing to compare your journey too. It’s easy to make the wrong choices when you’re not even certain there were right choices to be made in the first place.





	Swapfell

 

                Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, a sudden war broke out between the two races.

                After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

                An old legend says that those who climb the mountain, are never to return.

               

                …we shall see.

 

* * *

 

 

            My entire life, I was always the evil one. Even though I’d never wanted to hurt a fly. I was labeled as something… evil. Something dark. Something demonic in nature.

            …and thus, I was treated accordingly.

            As a small child left to fend for myself in an uncaring place for the first time; I tried to be perfect. Not just perfect, but the Perfect Child. I pretended.

            I pretended like the best of them.

            I was the best of them.

            But.

            Well.

            I’ve learned sometimes… You can pretend all you want to be Good, to not be Bad.

            But sometimes, the Bad tells All.

 

* * *

 

 

Plushie.

 

            It felt like the same day, every day.

            Which, he knew, was a really ironic thing to say considering how he had the power to manipulate time.

            But… he digressed. Sitting here in the Ruins, day in and day out… He was so bored… So extremely bored – but he’d learned the hard way that being bored was… better. It was better than trying to get involved; it was better than hoping for change and trying to intervene.

            Because he’d never actually been able to change anything for the better. No, he always made things worse in the end.

            So, nothing really ever changed, and he hoped that this world would… continue to stay that way. To continue to not change, if it was destined to only grow worse with time.

            The same way he always thought these circular thoughts here in the only lighted spot in this dark room.

            He scratched at his scraggily black and red striped sweater with a sigh, shoulders slumping further than normal.

            …he was so tired…

            “…?”

            A soft sound caught his attention, and he glanced up, small black eyes widening in disbelief at what he saw standing in the doorway, just in the light – it was – it couldn’t be –

            …another step showed him no, he was mistaken.

            It was a human child, but not who’d he’d…

            A human child, though.

            Another fallen human.

            Eyes redder than wine looked at him, practically even glowing in the dark. Hair a dark, dark scarlet – definitely not… _them_. _Their_ hair had been darker, less red… shorter. And they definitely hadn’t been so pale skinned – though in the darkness, for just a moment, a single moment it had seemed like… No.

            Not _them_ , but another human child.

            Not just another human child though –

            _The last needed human child_.

            His throat felt tight. His eyes burned.

            It made him want to laugh.

            He couldn’t feel anything emotionally, and having a body was more like having a puppet to control in some ways – but simply seeing them made him feel like breaking down.

            He felt like a nervous wreck – must have looked deranged, or something – could only imagine how much his trembling was scaring them. He had to get it together.

            He managed to find his voice.

            “…h-hoi! I’m- I’m Plushie, The Plush!”

            They stared at him, unmoving, a fixed frown on their face. They didn’t seem scared of him; that was odd but good. In their hand, they gripped a thin stick – a switch, it looked like. It seemed to be slightly thorned.

            They had a weapon – that was good. _Really_ good.

            They’d need to be able to defend themselves.

            He quickly took stock of the rest of them – they wore a red sweater with a single purple stripe across their chest. The top of the sweater was roughly stretched out – it hung off their right side and showed a good portion of their shoulder.

            They wore black shorts, and seemed to be wearing well-worn purple knitted leg-warmers that reached up above their knees. He could tell they would work as a good defensive armor – better than nothing, anyway.

            Lastly, they wore simple black shoes on their feet. He wasn’t sure why, but he thought they looked a little familiar to him somehow.

            He noticed his observation hadn’t gone unnoticed, and that they seemed to have taken the time to look him up and down in return. He wasn’t sure what they thought of him – some kids had been scared of him. They’d seen him as a demented looking toy. Others had seen him like a stuff animal – one had thought he was a real cat – and another a dog.

            “You must be really confused… But don’t worry.”

            He didn’t want to do this all over again. He’d rather turn to dust.

            “I’m… going to help you.”

            The battle barrier appeared around them, and the human’s soul appeared out from their chest. His breath hitched at the sight of their red and determined soul – again _that_ human flashed into their mind, dark smiling face – red soul flashing; red soul shattering…

            He wondered if the choked noise he’d heard came from him – had he remembered how to feel again? – but no, the soft startled noise had come from _them._

No, not _them,_ but them.

            Stars, he was so tired…

           

 

* * *

 

           

Chara.

 

            Chara stared at the red heart shaped glow emanating from their chest, lips parted in surprise.

            The strange feline creature – or dog toy? – started speaking again.

            “That’s your soul. The very culmination of you’re being. Your soul starts off weak and fragile… But it can grow stronger. It can grow stronger by gaining LV. LV stands for LOVE. The more LOVE that you have, the less likely you’ll be able to be hurt.”

            He moves one of his paws over one of the four icon boxes that have appeared for both of them. He chooses to ACT, to TALK and explain.

            “You must protect your soul. Down here, although attacks can hurt you – human bodies are durable. It’s your soul that you want to try to protect from direct hits. You’ll find that even if your body is really hurt against a monster – if your soul hasn’t shattered… You’ll find the determination to go on and continue the fight.”

            His words – these terms – they’re odd… But they resonate with you. These buttons are like a video game system. It’s like what history – or old lore – used to say the world was like a long time ago. What the world was _supposed to be like._

His expression changes slightly.

            _It’s hard to make out what facial expressions mean on something so foreign._

But something settles in their guts, and twists.

            “It’s about to be your turn now. On your turn… I want you to attack me.”

            Chara finds themselves frowning further at his words.

            _Attack him?_

They eye the ATTACK button, before glancing at him again. He – Plushie – stands at the ready before them, gaze solemn. His posture, unguarded.

            Chara feels some sort of _shift_ take place that they are at a loss to describe. But they know, that this shift means it is their turn now. Their turn to do… something. Options appear before her. ATTACK, ACT, ITEMS, MERCY.

            The longer they look at them, the more they feel that this… _this is right_ , somehow. Familiar.

            Plushie watches Chara patiently, before urging them to attack again.

            “Don’t be afraid. Go ahead and attack. I won’t hit you back. I promise.”

            Chara winces as that uneasy feeling settles deeper in their guts.

            _Should I… attack?_

Cautiously, they raises their hand and is about to push the button when _something else_ stirs inside of them. It’s an incredibly weak flutter they half-imagine, but for a moment it seemed to hint at TALK – at one of the options in there…

            It makes them hesitate.

            Their hesitation is enough time for a flash of light to appear out of the corner of their eye, and they look up just in time to see a flame suddenly shoot across the area and slam into the small figure before them – blasting him clear off the grassy hill into the darkness of the room.

            No sound echoes back from the darkness.

            Alarmed, Chara raises their switch up defensively as an absolutely hulking figure in dark purple robes move into view. Massive, and with great horns and yellow ringed eyes with violet pupils – they stand where Plushie once did. The fire along their giant clawed hands slowly dissipating away.

            “What a dreadful creature, torturing such an innocent youth. Do not be afraid, child. I am the caretaker of these old ruins. I walk down this way every so often, to check for fallen humans such as yourself… You are the first human to fall down into these ruins in a long time. Come, child. I shall guide you through these catacombs.”

            Anger fills Chara – anger, or something bitter at least – and they clutch their weapon tighter.

            _He attacked – he attacked without provocation… He killed them._

_Disgusting._

_*(The giant creature watches your reaction to his words and frowns at your glare and stance. He seems to take merit of himself before relaxing his own posture some. When he speaks again, his deep voice seems… kinder in some way. Still as baritone as before, and still as strict – but noticeably kinder.)_

This insight to the large monster's expressions surprises them. 

            “Salutations, dear child. I am Asgore. I mean you no harm… If you would follow me, I shall bring you to safety.”

            _Can I trust him? Do I even have a choice?_

_*(You’re not exactly sure you can refuse him. Nevertheless of your decision, he turns and walks from the room slowly and that doesn’t leave you with a lot of options as there isn’t anywhere else to go.)_

            Still…

            The soft, weak murmurs they hear in the dark stop them from going forward. Singed and limping, Plushie crawls from the darkness to sit down a few feet from them. He hangs his head, and doesn't lift it.

            _*(He appears more miserable than when you’d first seen him – the odd human-like hair on the top of his head singed, as are the top of his ears. Though it’s no mystery as to why.)_

            His voice sounds broken when he speaks.

            “He… Asgore… He won’t let other monsters harm you here… But in exchange… You have to stay with him. You won’t be allowed to leave.”

            ' _You won’t be able to leave.'_

That phrase reminds Chara of pain and suffering, and they grit their teeth against the bad memories that threaten to surface.

            Chara forsakes those memories.

            For a moment, they hesitate. Torn between leaving this odd creature behind, and torn between offering to take them along.

 _For years now I’ve been told I’m a monster, and monsters don’t have moral compasses – but something feels wrong about abandoning him here_.

_A fellow… ‘monster.’_

            _Perhaps…_

            Chara’s not sure if they even trusts him enough to pick him up right away, if he’d even let them. But they remember how he’d stopped to warn them of this place when they’d first met him. How even now, he was offering them guidance…

            Their staring draws his attention, and he glances up. His face is scuffed and bruised, but some underlying hope – and something darker – enter his voice.

            “…do you want me to come with you?”

            It somehow sounds like hope _and_ dread.

            Not sure of what they want, Chara turns away and starts to walk away, but pauses. Finally, they look over their shoulder toward him. He seems to take this as a sign to follow them, and they do – with a limp.

            It’s the limp that makes them finally give in.

            It reminds them too much of the abandoned kitten they’d once found. Weak, starving, alone – it had drawn an immediate sense of mercy out of them. They aren’t thinking, so much as reacting, as they bend down and pick him up. They took him under and against their right side with their free arm, keeping the switch clasped in their left.

            He seems surprised, glancing up at them with a dazed expression.

            “Th-thank you…”

            Silently, they judge him.

            _…he doesn’t look dangerous._

More so pathetic, truthfully.

            They hold him a little tighter.

            “Asgore must be waiting up ahead for you…”

            Taking that as initiative, they walk into a new room, this one with a dark purple interior. Two twin staircases lead up to a large open archway. Asgore seems to noticeably relax to see you have come out of the previous room, and turns to walk up one side of a twin staircase. They lead up to a large open archway. Asgore glances back at them before he continues on again.

            He didn’t seem to notice that they had Plushie tucked against their side.

            Chara’s red eyes are drawn from where he disappeared to the glowing light between the staircases. It looks like a golden star of some kind… They approach it cautiously, shifting the switch to their right hand to reach out their free hand. It produces heat and warmth, but not warmth like a fire… More like the heat from a water heater, perhaps. As if a lot of energy or _something_ lay heating up inside of it.

            It doesn’t scald their fingertips as they place their hand against it.

            It does cause something strange to happen though – a tug in your soul, a different sort of twist in your gut – and a swell of _something_ pumps through their veins…

            A window appears in front of them, like the battle icons from earlier. But what catches their attention is the sudden mysterious voice they hear all around them.

            _*(The shadow of the ruins looms above you, filling you with determination.)_

_*(HP is fully restored.)_

            They're sure now that the curious insight they've been gathering now actually belongs to a voice, of some kind. At the voice's words, their body feels better – a lot better since before they’d fallen down here in the first place.

            The window has the options to SAVE or RETURN. It has EMPTY written along the top. For some reason, that word resonates with them.

            Chara finds their hand drifting toward the SAVE button – but just for a moment, a single flickering moment – the SAVE button changes and another word takes its place. It’s gone so quickly they wonder if they imagined it, but they can still see it in their mind’s eye.

            ERASE.

            They press their fingertips against SAVE – just to see what would happen next – and they feel another odd tug against their soul. The feeling gives them another rush. Their blood pumps loud enough to make noise in their eardrums.

            Suddenly, EMPTY changes and is instead replaced with… a name?

            It reads: _Frisk_.

            The window blinks away but the star remains. Chara stares, transfixed, for a moment, before Plushie’s wiggling draws their attention.

            “Uhh… Is everything alright?”

            Plushie looks up at them, confused.

            He didn't seem to notice the voice earlier, and doesn’t seem to see the glowing star either, or he’s just too tired to pay it much attention. Though he looks a little better than before. Only a little, though.

            Chara decides to press on.

            As weird as that was, hearing an invisible voice and some odd name appearing out of thin air is the least interesting thing that’s happened so far.

            They continue on with Plushie into the Ruins.

               

 

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a comment, let me know what you think so far of the first chapter ;)


End file.
